The present invention relates to device for simply and cheaply supporting a bladder from a vessel main body of an accumulator for use in accumulation, absorption of pulsation and the like of pressurized liquid.
Heretofore, in the case of supporting a bladder from a vessel main body of an accumulator, as shown partly in an enlarged scale in FIG. 6, a support ring 12 having its inner circumferential surface 12a shaped into a circular arc in vertical cross-section is formed from a pipe material, the support ring 12 is fitted into a groove 15 formed in a flange 14 of a bladder 13, then the bladder 13 is inserted into a vessel main body 16 with the support ring 12 engaged with a step 17 formed in an inner circumferential surface of the vessel main body 16, and thereby the bladder is supported from the vessel main body 16.
In the case of forming the support ring 12 for the bladder 13 by subjecting a pipe material to lathe turning as described above, not only the support ring 12 becomes expensive due to an increased machining expense, but also when the inner circumferential surface 12a having a vertical cross-section of circular arc shape is shaped, since the machining is effected in such manner that the inner circumferential surface is shape up from the upper and lower sides, respectively, and the respective machined surfaces may coincide at the crest portion, it is difficult to make the respective machined surfaces perfectly coincide with each other. Though it is not seen with the naked eye, if it is observed as being optically enlarged, in most cases a step 18 is produced on the machined surface as shown in FIG. 6. Consequently, in the prior art, there was a problem that if the groove 15 in the bladder 13 is strongly pressed against the above-mentioned step 18, the inner surface of this groove 15 would be hurt by the step 18, this hurt would gradually become large by repeated expansion and contraction of the bladder, resulting in damage of the groove 15, and hence a life of the bladder 13 would be shortened thereby.
The present invention has been worked out in order to resolve the above-mentioned problem in the prior art, and has it as an object that to provide a supporting device for a bladder which device is cheap and would not damage the flange of the bladder.